


What Could Have Been

by justsimplymeagain



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, POV Alternating, characters may be ooc, palpatine fails
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:26:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29593458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justsimplymeagain/pseuds/justsimplymeagain
Summary: What if the Separatists and Republic joined forces against The Empire? What if, Palpatine failed?What if things happen differently?
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Introduction - of sorts

**Author's Note:**

> This is my little blurb of "everything is okay and nothing hurts" at least too much. It won't be a detailed shot by shot in regards to how things happened. But a series of points of view of during the war and after. If there's anything specific you want to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Obi-Wan could not believe the luck or lack of luck that has brought him to this situation where he was staring down his own men on some back-watered planet and on the cusp of Separatist Territory. Ever since Palpatine was outed as a Sith and he activated an Order that destroyed the free will and loyalty of the Clone Troopers – things have escalated into a three-way war. 

The Separatists. 

The Republic. 

The Empire. 

The whole galaxy was out of control! And the Jedi were only able to do so much with some of them being killed by their own men and some of them surviving but forced to either flee or fight in order to simply survive. They were scattered. It was disheartening. But there was hope, there was always hope because there had to be an end and if they trust in the force as well as each other – there will be a favourable outcome. 

As it stood, Padme with a handful of soldiers and a few Jedi had gone deeper into Separatist Territory with a handful of people to try and curry favour with the Separatist and see if they would be willing to join with them against the Empire. 

There has been no word since. And it’s been longer than a week. Anakin was beyond worried; it took everything in Obi-Wan to keep the man from charging in after her. Even after the news that she was pregnant. Obi-Wan wanted to get angry with Anakin, but seeing that scared look on his face and knowing Anakin the way he does – he couldn’t bring himself to get mad. Instead, he tried to reassure. 

“Sir! We’re going to have to retreat.” Captain Rex, thankfully saved by Ahsoka and Anakin, making Obi-Wan miss Commander Cody. There was no word and no sign of him. So, Obi-Wan had to expect the worst. Plo Koon managed to wrangle some of his Wolffepack together after some time of defending himself against them and other clone troopers. They were stationed elsewhere. 

“That’s all fine and well, Captain. But where?” Obi-Wan said, they were backed into a corner. Anakin immediately took to trying to figure out a way for them to do just that. No doubt going to do something incredibly reckless as he normally does. 

Only the sound of something rolling in their direction from above interrupted any plan that Anakin could have came up with, leaving them with little time to even come up with an idea of what that was. Though, from experience, they had a good idea that proved correct as a clone trooper exclaimed, “Rollies!” 

Several dropped to the ground before them. Both Anakin and his own lightsabers ignited in preparation to defend themselves. 

How odd was it to see the destroyer droid unfold and not actually pointing their weapons at them? It was now that Padme contacted them, informing them that her talks were successful. There was a familiar taunting almost robotic tone cutting in informing them of what was going to happen in order to extract them. General Grievous himself. 

Never in Obi-Wan’s life could he ever suspect to have been rescued by the General himself. How odd this galaxy has become, but at the moment as droids managed to push the clone troopers trying to kill them back, Obi-Wan certainly wasn’t going to complain. Of course, he figured that eventually, betrayal would come into play. But hopefully, by then, a solution would be found in regards to the chips controlling the clones. In the meantime, they followed orders and retreated into one of the ships provided by General Grievous to extract them. It was an odd sensation to stand amongst droids and not actively try to destroy them. 

As Obi-Wan and Anakin were led to the bridge, the oddness of the day wasn’t finished as Obi-Wan had to stand there and thank the taunting General and find himself relieved at the sight of Padme with the few Jedi that went with her seemingly in good spirits and reluctantly hopeful. The soldiers that accompanied her, met them in the docking bay. 

With the help of the Separatists, the shape of the war changed to a two-way fight. 

The Republic and the Separatist against the Empire. 

It didn’t take long for The Empire to be pushed back farther than the Outer Rim. What was beyond that point, Obi-Wan didn’t know. What he did know, was that Sheev Palpatine was captured and killed by Mace Windu and a handful of Jedi accompanied by freed Clone Troopers and a small battalion of B1 Battle Droids. Needlessly said, from what Obi-Wan heard, the Sith lord went out fighting. As was expected, but despite that - 

The victory was still theirs. 

Then came the hard part, with the Republic so broken down and the citizens not sure who to trust and what was going on, things were still in turmoil. It was tense, for a good month coruscant time, it seemed like the war between the Separatist and the Republic would pick up where it left off. 

Only it didn’t. 

It turned out, they had Padme Amidala to thank for that, a neutral zone would be put in place between Separatist territories and the Republic territory. It would make things difficult, but at the moment it was workable. 

And for the first time in what felt like years. 

The fighting stopped. 

Of course, there was hardly any time to do anything because matters in regards to the Clone Troopers had to be decided and war trials had to be held. The Jedi themselves had to regroup and figure out what was stolen, what was damaged and what was destroyed. They had to figure out how many of them were still left, and how many would remain. 

Anakin Skywalker left the order immediately. Something that shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was and Obi-Wan didn’t know what to think about it. In the coming months, his marriage with Padme became public knowledge, as was her pregnancy. The Order couldn’t even focus on that as it had so many things to deal with.


	2. CC-3636 - Clone Commander Wolffe

CC-3636, better known to most as Commander Wolffe felt anxious. The war was finished, those that could be saved from being controlled from the behavioural modification biochip were saved. However, that left a bigger problem for the Senate and for everyone other than them. What to do with the clones. They were bred for war, to be soldiers. But with no war and some of them unwilling soldiers for the Empire – what was going to be their fate.

It also left another fact glaring and mockingly in their face.

They were effectively slaves.

A low snarl crept up; he didn’t know what to think of that. He was a good soldier; he was loyal to the Republic and he was faithful and loyal to his Jedi General. Plo Koon. With no war to fight, no cause to get behind – there was only time to think and take in stark realizations. But he was a good soldier and if nothing else – he would keep being just that. He just didn’t know how or for what or for whom.

For the hundredth time that day, he looked over each and every clone – _no, not clone: person, they were people and even more so brothers!_ – in his battalion and waited for the decision to come down from up high on what was going to happen now. They had no contact with other battalions and only some contact with their Jedi.

The last time he managed to have a few minutes with General Plo Koon, his Jedi seemed to be bothered. Which in itself bothered Wolffe, he was just as attached to the Jedi as he was to his brothers. It tore him apart not knowing what was going on with the Jedi because it left him at a greater disadvantage in regards to helping him. Plo Koon was a member of Wolffe’s pack. It was just how it was. But – he couldn’t allow himself to think or acknowledge the man as anything but his General. Ranks after all and Wolffe was a soldier.

But was he? Now that the war was done, was he still a soldier?

Or just –

Thankfully, the door slid open interrupting his thoughts and saving him from going down a dark path in regards to his thoughts. He’s been stuck in a cycle of turmoil since the war stopped and the trials started, not to mention the debates on their fate.

It was Plo Koon.

“Koh-to-yah.”

Hearing his voice was enough to get everyone standing and waiting. This felt familiar, this felt normal – and Wolffe welcomed it and despite his previous train of thought, welcomed the sight of the Jedi before them. As he normally did, the General had them relax and let the atmosphere take on a less formal air as they crowded around him. They felt like children waiting on a parent this way, and perhaps that wasn’t far from the truth – except, they were soldiers. Clones. Slaves. Wolffe shook himself mentally, felt the eyes of his General on him. No doubt sensing his train of thought, no doubt knowing what Wolffe was going through now that the fighting has stopped.

Nothing more was said beyond the familiar greeting, it left Wolffe feeling like they were going to get bad news.

“The debates among the Senators have concluded.” Plo Koon started, and all at once Wolffe felt like he’d rather be on the battlefield right now because that was easy and he knew what to expect from there. But here, he felt like he was just sitting around and waiting for his fate to be dished out to him. It was a horrible feeling. And he wanted to lash out and demand answers.

“And? What’s going to happen to us Sir?” Wolffe asked, keeping himself in check because this was their Jedi. He was kinder than other’s have been to their troopers.

“Charges will not be laid against your brothers who were controlled by the behavioural modification chips. Within the coming weeks, forms will have to be filled out and choices will need to be made in regards to what happens in each and every one of your future.”

“Choices about what?” A voice asked from behind Wolffe, quickly noted to be Sinker. No sign of his humour coming through, but then this wasn’t a situation for jokes.

“What you do with your future. You are hereby not owned by the Republic Senate or the Jedi Order. In other words, you are free. You all will have a choice on whether you retire from service, or if you wish you can continue. I am sure, there is a lot to be done still. The war has only finished.” Plo Koon always had a way of being straightforward, that kind of honesty was always welcomed. But it left Wolffe feeling uncomfortable and untethered.

Barely listening, barely able to comprehend what he was hearing until he picked up a few words, “… your forgiveness.” There was a sincerity and sorrow there that had Wolffe almost latching onto the Jedi.

Like a child.

Plo Koon was asking for their forgiveness, Wolffe was struggling to understand why – when again he found himself remembering what they are – _were_ – and the reason why they were made.

“Sir.”

“General.”

There were several exclamations, shock and hurt clearly heard in each voice. Nobody knew how to respond. But how does one respond when a Jedi Master and previously their General was asking for their forgiveness. And Wolffe knew Plo Koon well enough to know that he truly was sincere in what he was asking for.

“Sir, if I may.” A nod for him to continue, “I think I can speak for everyone here when I say is that you don’t have to apologize to us. We knew why we were created; we understood the reasons. Out of every Jedi, we are lucky to have been assigned to you. You never treated us like living droids, or pawns to be discarded carelessly. You always treated us with respect, like our lives mattered.” Wolffe meant every word and prayed he won’t have to repeat it multiple times but given who their Jedi was. He would probably have to repeat some of it.

“All the same, Commander.” Plo Koon insisted.

Of course, he did. Wolffe fought to keep himself from getting irritated, but given the situation, he could be forgiven if he did get snappy or irritated with anyone.

“We forgive you. But as Wolffe said, you don’t need to apologize to us.” Another one of his brothers said, and Wolffe nodded. Eventually, they managed to get their General to accept their firm belief in regards to his apology, despite it not being needed. It was nice to have someone apologize to them, and it would help him sleep later on. In the coming days, they found out that the clones who decided that they wanted to retire had an uninhabited planet where they could move to, where some of the Jedi were willing to go in order to assist them in settling in.

Those who didn’t retire were mostly unchanged, however, they were now used in peacekeeping efforts and essentially cleaning up after the war.

The Wolffepack followed after their Jedi, who no longer was a General in a war and had gone back to being just that. A Jedi. And now, above all else – a peacekeeper. And for a soldier like Wolffe, being a peacekeeper was a nice change of pace. Fights still happened of course, but his pack handled it well.


End file.
